Roller skate



Jul 2 1936. -F. A. BEVNTZLIN ROLLER SKATE Filed May 25,' 1935 Patented July 1936 ROLLER SKATE m a. Bentslln, St. Paul, Minn.

Application May 25, 1935, Serial No. 23.397

1 Claim.

This invention relates to roller skates of the kind having a single row of alined rollers and an object is to provide a skate of this t p involving certain means for adjusting the rollers in arcuate arrangement longitudinally to provide floor contact corresponding to ice-surface contact of ice-skates, particularly skates of the kind used for figure or fancy skating.

Other features include front and rear brake or stop means, certain roller mounting having easy adjustment for necessary rolling qualities, a novel roller tire and mounting therefor and a simple and efllcient skate frame construction, all as hereinafter fully set forth reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which;-

Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of my improved skate. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional detail view of the skate frame near the heel plate, about as on line 3-3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the sole plate, about as on line 4-4 in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an elevation of one of the rollers and its shaft, the upper half beingin section. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of one of the rollers. Fig. 'l is a fragmentary, enlarged side view of a portion of the skate frame at one of its recesses in which a roller is retained.

' Referring to the drawing by' reference numerals, like parts being designated in the various views by identical numbers, the skate frame is preferably one-piece including a sole plate 8, a heel plate 9, from which extend downwardly and integrally a downwardl open channel II, which between the sole and heel plate is of inverted U-shape in cross section (see Fig. 3). The sole plate and said channel may furtherbc solidly v braced by brackets IOB. v

Inthetypeofskateillnstrated, the sole and heel parts are provided with a number of'aper-- tures l l for riveting or otherwise attaching the skates permanently to a shoe II, but it will be loitswallsareforwardiyandnear wardlytoretain, ,betIoentherespectiveendpartsatoe-bloek'liand aheel- -saidcinvatureisvu-lableasdesired.

are preferably arcuate the channel being widest (vertically) at its center and-said edges curving upwardly toward front and rear ends. In said lower edge parts is provided a series of transversely registering pairs of vertical slots i6, between each pair of which is adjustably and removably retained a roller shaft ll of which the reduced and threaded outer ends are within the slots and project therefrom for receiving a nut l8 exteriorly of the channel.

Adjacent the said slots IS the exterior channel walls are serrated or corrugated as iflC (Fig. 7) for the purpose of preventing slippage of the roller shaft I! this being mademore positive by using under each nut l8 a washer l9 of the type having corrugated or roughened faces. Thus a roller may be positively and securely retained in any desired position in and between a pair of slots iii. The purpose of this is to enable a skater to set the rollers in any suitable arcuate alinement or even in a straight line if so desired.

Each roller comprises in part a rubber tire or rim 20 the tread of which is formed arcuate in transverse section and said tread having a series of circular groovesas best shown in Figs. 2, 5, and 6.

The inner part of each ring is reduced in thicknas to be clamped between a flange ZIF of the roller hub or outer ball-race 2i and a ring 22 I threaded on said ball race opposite its fixed flange 2IF. 2IG is a single groove in the bore of 2| (centrally) comprising the outer race for a series of balls 25, the inner race being a corresponding groove formed between adlaoent ends of two bushings 23R and BL threaded on the central part of the shaft il (see Fig. 5) and retained by apair of nuts 24 alsothreaded on said shaft. v It is obvious that adjustment of the bushings 23R and 231- provides for proper adjustment and contact with the balls 25 to keep the latter at alltimesinpropensmoothrolling contact. A

'sirmlecentralringofballsisprefmedtherow otrollersbeinginaiinementtmdertheskateis' foot and their ball tbuscarrylng the skatersweightinmostemciaitmannerlongb' tudinallyotandcentmllyunderthefoot.

'l'he'featureof to setth'e rollers inedinacurvatm-e.as

ted I Thiscurvatureasstamapproximates matm'eofanioeskatebladebutinthis Itisweliknownthatandroller-skathwhithertohavebeenverydiirerent mequiringgg bythedottedlinelimfigLisgh accomplish fancy figure skating. An object of this invention is to provide roller skates the use of which is comparable or similar to ice-skating.

The tires or rings 20 of this skate are preferably made of comparatively tough or hard rub.-

ber but with suflicient yielding qualities so that the skaters weight causes friction contact: to approximately equal the corresponding contact of ice skates.

Assuming that the skate is tipped sidewise dur:

ing skating, it is obvious that the outer bead and adjacent head will bear the weight emciently and eliminate falling because of side-slip or angular pressure. p

Normally, in the use of this skate, two rollers contact the floor, or three if the longitudinal curvature 26 is slight. Obviouslyif a skater is executing fancy figures or jumps, even four rollers may contact the floor for instance at impact when descending from a leap. Thus resistance to on each skate bearing the weight of the skater at any time.

Referring again to the toe and heel brake and pivot blocks lS-ll it is preferred to clamp them dlfierent motion and sway to attain speed and between the end parts of the channel frame by means of-thescrews l5 passing through elongated slots 28 allowing for setting the blocks in desired spaced relation to the floor 29. The downwardly exposed end of either block contacts the flooryfor braking or pivoting purposes when the ska-tertips his foot forward and down or otherwise, as-needed, to contact said blocks.

"Modifications within the scope of the following .claim maybe made without departing from the scope and'spirit of the invention.

I claim:

r A roller skate comprising an elongated channel shaped main frame of inverted U-shape in cross section, means in the web of said main frame for securing it to the heel and sole parts of a shoe, the horizontal registering lower edges of said main frame being arcuate to correspond to the. curvature of anice skate blade and bein provided with horizontally registering pairs of upwardly directed notches, each said pair of' notches being adapted to retain the shaft of a suitable roller, all of said rollers being in tandem and in selective-arcuate arrangement, and means on the shaft of each roller adjacent said notches for adjusting and retaining said rollers in variable arcuate arrangement, said last named means comprising in part a series of corrugations in saidmain frame adjacent each of said notches and providing'a friction hold for roller shaft retaining means, tohold each roller at a predetermined height relative to the other rollers and 'to vary the arcuate alinement of said rollers. FRANK A. BENTZLIN. 

